The Greatest Man She Never Knew
by AllInMyStories
Summary: What would have happened if when Andy found out that her father had a degenerative nerve condition, it turned out worse than it already was? R&R!
1. Tragedy Wrapped In One Moment

Title: "The Greatest Man She Never Knew"  
  
Authors: Me (SpecialReader02)  
  
Date: May 16, 2004  
  
Rating: PG 13  
Language  
  
Spoilers: Season 3, Episode 17 "Orders."  
  
Category: Drama/Tragedy  
  
Keywords: Death  
  
Summary: What would have happened if when Andy found out that her father had a degenerative nerve condition that threatened his independence, it turned out worse then it already was?  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything, except for my ideas and writing.  
  
Dedication: For now, to my fans.  
  
Author Notes: This chapter takes place right in the middle of the episode when Andy and her father are having an argument.  
  
Feedback: I'll take anything: good or bad. I love reviews and I hope everybody likes the story.  
  
It had been such an unforgettable moment in her life. Not a good, unforgettable moment, but a bad one. Andy was having a huge argument with her father. He was starting to walk up the stairs while yelling at her, and half way up his legs gave out beneath him and next thing she knew, her father was collapsed on a broken foyer table and in severe pain. Andy screamed for her father and quickly ran to him. She reached for the phone and speed dialed the Rittenhouse Emergency Room and told them the situation. They said they'd be there soon, so Andy grabbed her medical bag and did anything she could to help her helpless father. People upstairs in her house heard all the commotion and ran downstairs to see what was going on. By the time the ambulance came, Andy's mother along with Les, Jessie, and Lizzy piled into a vehicle and headed towards Rittenhouse. Andy rode in the ambulance with her father. As they arrived to the ER, Andy's father blacked out. Dr. Nick Biancavilla saw her rush in with a man on a stretcher. He figured it was just a patient, but then he could tell by the look on Andy's face that it wasn't. He quickly ran to her and started taking medical orders. She ordered everybody to do a certain thing, but then everybody stopped suddenly when the heart monitor rang a solid note. Andy's stopped breathing for a second, while Nick grabbed an EKG machine. He handed the juiced paddles to Andy.  
  
"Charge to 150." He shouted.  
  
"Charged."  
  
"Clear." Andy said and the paddles zapped her father's chest. She quickly looked at the monitor but there was no heart beat. "Charge to 200." She ordered.  
  
"Charged."  
  
"Clear." Andy let the paddles zap him again, but still there was nothing. "Charge to 250."  
  
"Charged."  
  
"Clear." Once again, Andy zapped him. Still, there was nothing. It made her breath increase rapidly and pain struck her eyes. "Charge to 300!" She practically yelled.  
  
"Dr. Campbell." Nick said softly from behind her.  
  
"Do it! Charge to 300!" She repeated herself.  
  
Nick did what she said. "Charged."  
  
"Clear!" Andy zapped her helpless father once more. Her eyes jolted to the heart monitor, praying that it was beeping, showing some form of life in him. Nothing. "Charge to 350!" She yelled. Nick gently grabbed her from behind and took the paddles away. "Damnit Biancavilla!! Charge to 350, now!!!" She yelled and tried to get the paddles back. His grip tightened as he tried to restrain her. "Let me go!" She yelled. Nick held his grip as she fought against him. After a few seconds her body went half-numb and she fell still and silent.  
  
"Dr. Campbell, I-"He said but Andy walked away from him, towards the exit of the Emergency Room and entrance to other parts of the hospital. Behind her, Nick turned back to the man on the stretcher, wondering who he was. "Time of death: 8 52 P.M." He said and it made tears start falling from Andy's eyes. Her steps forward were slow and dragging almost as if the world was in slow motion. Black streaks started forming on her cheeks from her mascara. Her heart was pounding in every inch of her body as she turned corners. People looked at her with pity, wondering what had happened but not daring enough to ask. She approached the RWHC and stopped yards away from Lu and Lana sitting at the receptionist desk. There was nobody in there except them. The clinic had just closed for the evening, so most of the lights were still on. Lana noticed somebody standing out of the corner of her eye and turned her glance in the direction of Andy. Lu noticed her glance change and looked to. Andy stood there, weak with emotion. Both women quickly walked to her with concern in their eyes.  
  
"Andy?" Lu asked. "What happened?"  
  
Andy didn't answer. She just looked at her hands. After a second she spoke up. "Is my mother here?"  
  
"Dr. Campbell." Nick called from down the hallway. He quickly walked to them as Andy turned around to look at him. They paused and then he handed her a wallet that was in his hand. "I'm so sorry." He said. Andy looked down at the wallet that was just placed in her hands. It was her fathers. She slowly opened it and looked inside. There were credit cards and a military ID.  
  
She looked back at Lu and Lana and was about to say something but a familiar voice called to her from the door of the clinic. "Andy." It was her mother. Les, Jessie, and Lizzy were standing behind her. Andy slowly started to walk towards them and they started walking to until they met each other in the middle. Her mother looked at her with hope in her eyes for anything besides the most terrible thing that could happen. The tears that had built up within the past minutes now poured down her cheeks as she shook her head. Andy handed her the wallet and even though she couldn't actually see it, she knew that her mother's heart was sinking slowly inside her. Her mother sank into one of the waiting room chairs, staring at the wallet. Andy caught Les's gaze. He reached out for her and she fell into his arms. Jessie took a seat next to her grandmother and tried to hold back her own tears, but she couldn't. Lizzy looked from her grandmother, to the wallet, to Jessie, and then up at her mother. She slowly tugged on Andy's shirt.  
  
"Did Grandpa die?" She asked in a scared child's voice. Andy bent down to Lizzy's height and pulled her in for a hug.  
  
"Yes, honey. Grandpa didn't make it through this one." Andy said slowly and squeezed her daughter even tighter. Les sat down on the other side of Andy's mother and wrapped one arm around her.  
  
"This wasn't supposed to happen." She said. Everybody turned their glances to the women staring at the wallet. "It was just a nerve condition. It wasn't supposed to cost him his life, not this soon!" She said. Tears started pouring down her eyes and she grabbed onto Les. Andy looked at her husband holding her mother and then to Jessie. The fourteen-year-old sat to herself crying. Andy moved to sit next to her and pulled Lizzy onto her lap. In the background, Nick was explaining that it was Andy's father and what happened in the Emergency Room. The three friends glanced at the grieving family with sadness in their faces.  
  
A/N: Well? What did you think? Review and tell me please! It's only the first chapter. There is more to come! 


	2. One Year Later

Title: The Greatest Man She Never Knew  
  
Chapter: 2  
  
Date: May 22, 2004  
  
Rating: PG 13  
  
Spoilers: Everything up until Season 4, Episode 7 "Bad Liver."  
  
Category: Drama/Tragedy  
  
Keywords: Just sad.  
  
Summary: What would have happened if when Andy found out that her father had a degenerative nerve condition that threatened his independence, it turned out worse then it already was?  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything and that's all I believe that I need to say.  
  
Dedication: To Megan for loving Strong Medicine!  
  
Author Notes: I hope everybody likes this chapter and it isn't confusing to anybody. Review please!  
  
Feedback: I'll take anything: good or bad. I love reviews!  
  
  
  
Andy drove. The radio was on and it was raining. It had been a year since the Generals death and she still remembers exactly what happened. The argument that night had ended tragically and she couldn't get the last words out of her memory. She had told him that she was his daughter and he had raised her to never give up and always do the right thing. He yelled back at her, like he always did, saying that she shouldn't have disobeyed his orders and gone to the military head courters about his problems and the problems of the many men he put in danger. Andy also remembered coming back home from the hospital that night with her family and seeing the table still crushed near the bottom of the stairs. The sight made her and her mother shed more tears. The funeral had taken place in Washington the day after and every military person Andy had ever met showed up. The Generals, Colonels, Majors, and even some plain soldiers who were in town came. Family and friends told stories about her father. He was the man who survived two weeks behind enemy lines with just a canteen of water. The General was a real fighter. Andy's mother described the situation saying that her father had lost the battle but won the war. He had lost to a nerve condition, but went out as a highly respected and honored individual.  
  
Life was different throughout the months after that night. People changed, work for Andy changed, and her home life and marriage had changed drastically. Les had become a stranger through her eyes. A few months after the General died, there was another moment in her life that changed everything. The night when Les hit her was unforgettable. It was one moment that stuck in her life forever. Andy's biggest fear was failure and after she kicked Les out and they had gotten separated, she felt like she had failed at marriage and at life. It had really torn her to pieces. But then she thought about Jessie and Lizzy. They were the result of what was once true love. Even though now, Andy had filed for divorce and was dating somebody else, she would always love Les in a way. No matter what he did and how much pain he caused, he would always be the father of her children and her first real love. He would always be in her heart and in her memories: both good and bad.  
  
Andy had been dating Dr. Milo Morton for awhile now. They had been growing closer over the past weeks though. She had turned to him lately for advice and had finally introduced him to her daughters two and a half weeks ago. They were at a point in their relationship where they had wanted to be more intimate and a few days ago it happened for them. Andy thought of it as an incredible experience that she wouldn't forget. Milo was only the second man she had made love with and it really meant a lot to her. There are a lot of times in a relationship where things just get better such as the first intimate encounter. After that night, roses were sent and pictures were exchanged. Andy had gotten a wallet size photograph of him first. It was in the second plastic frame in her wallet. The first was a picture of Jessie and Lizzy together at Christmas. The girls had taken a liking to their mother's new boyfriend. It wasn't easy, but they adjusted to the fact that Andy and Milo were in a serious relationship now.  
  
Andy's thoughts took her away as she kept driving. The rain kept falling, making it hard for her to see clearly. Eventually, it got so heavy that she couldn't see the road in front of her. Her tires slid off the road and into the grass. She slowed down easily and stopped the car off the road. She sighed and decided that it wasn't safe to drive when she couldn't see anything. She turned off her windshield wipers and put the car in park. Her thoughts had left her mind for a moment when she had run off the road. She didn't really want to go back to thinking about everything so she turned up the radio.  
  
"That was 'Picture' by Sheryl Crow and Kidrock. Now for another good song, here's 'The Greatest Man I Never Knew' by Reba." The voice on the radio said. Andy turned her attention fully to it now. The song sounded familiar. She had probably heard it somewhere before, but just couldn't remember.  
  
The music started. "The greatest man I never knew, lived just down the hall/ And everyday he said hello/ But never touched at all/ He was in his paper/ I was in my room/ how was I supposed to know he thought I hung the moon."  
  
The song connected with Andy and made her start thinking about her father again.  
  
"The greatest man I never knew, came home late every night/ He never had too much to say/ Too much was on his mind/ I never really knew him/ And now it seems so sad/ Everything he gave to us, took all he had. Then the days turned into years/ And the memories from black to white/ He grew cold like an old winter wind blowing across my life."  
  
As the song played, Andy sat there in silence. The rain was letting up some and she could see around within a hundred feet. There was a sign a little ways up the road that said 'Welcome to Washington D.C.-Your nations capital.'  
  
"The greatest words I never heard, I guess I'll never hear/ The man I thought could never die, has been dead almost a year/ He was good at business/ But there was business left to do/ He never said he loved me/ Guess he thought I knew."  
  
Andy realized the singer was talking about a father as she restarted her car and pulled back onto the road. The song went off the radio and Andy turned the radio off as a tear rolled down her cheek.  
  
Within twenty minutes, Andy arrived at her destination. She grabbed the bouquet of flowers that were in the passenger seat and got out of her car. It had stopped raining completely, but the ground was still wet as she walked through the graveyard. Tombstones were all around, but there was only one she was looking for. The song lyrics from before repeated in her mind.  
  
"The greatest words I never heard, I guess I'll never hear/ The man I thought could never die, has been dead almost a year/ He was good at business/ But there was business left to do/ He never said he loved me/ Guess he thought I knew." The words faded as she approached the grave. The tombstone in front of her was one of the best, of course.  
  
It read,  
  
"General Andy March  
  
Loving Husband, Father,  
And Proud Soldier."  
  
Andy knelt down in the wet grass with the flowers in her hand. "Hello General." She said aloud. "Dad." She corrected herself. She started replacing the old flowers on the top of his tombstone with the ones she had brought. "I miss you. I do." She sighed and tried to hold back her tears. "Surprisingly, I miss your orders and your way of having to have everything perfect. I found out that I'm more like you than I thought. You always got through hard times and you taught me to do the same. And like always, you've had to find some way to make it more difficult for me. This time, it's by leaving. Leaving Mom, and me behind. I always thought I could live without you, and now that I have to, I can't. Why does this have to be this hard Dad?" Tears started falling form her eyes. She wiped them away. "A soldier never cries." She said softly. "Isn't that right, General? A soldier never cries." Andy sat in silence for a few seconds.  
  
"I thought I would find you here sometime today." A familiar voice called from behind her. Andy turned around to see her mother standing there.  
  
"Mom." Andy said. Her mother came closer and sat down on the wet grass next to her. "How long were you standing there?" She asked.  
  
"Long enough." Her mother wrapped one arm around Andy. "You weren't just his soldier Andy. You were his daughter. His only child who he loved more than anything." Andy looked at her mother and then at the tombstone. "I remember when you were born. He always wanted to hold you and never let you go. He would take pictures of you whenever he had the chance and then he'd keep those pictures in his bag when he was gone for missions."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. You were his prized possession. His little girl."  
  
"How come he never told me that? How come he didn't know that I needed reassurance about that?" Andy asked confused.  
  
"Nobody's perfect. Not even the General." Her mother answered. "He always cared about you. I remember he used to pace in our bedroom when you started dating. And when you got married, he was so nervous for you. When those two beautiful granddaughters of mine were born, I think I actually saw him cry."  
  
"No way. Not the General." Andy said sarcastically.  
  
"Yes way." Her mother stated. "Just because he never really expressed it, doesn't mean he didn't really feel it."  
  
"I miss him so much Mom." Andy said, bursting into tears.  
  
"I know." Her mother wrapped both arms around her and started crying some herself. "I do to." They paused. "Never forget him Andy."  
  
"I won't. I love you Mom." She responded.  
  
"I love you to sweetie." There was another pause. "Come on. Let's go get some lunch. I haven't seen you in months."  
  
The two women stood up from the wet grass and glanced at the tombstone once more. Then, arm in arm, they turned and walked away from the grave where General Andy March lay to rest.  
  
  
  
Aww.....so sad! Tear. Read and Review...this stories done! Hope everybody likes it! 


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